Numbers 15:30 - Meaning and Application

Here is the general judgment against presumptuous sinners. Those are the people who sin “with a high hand” (Numbers 15:30). That means they openly defy God’s authority, put their own desires against his command, and sin on purpose, in spite of the law and its penalty. This is more than sinning from ignorance. It is sinning deliberately against God’s will and glory.

Sins like this are very serious. First, they reproach the Lord (Numbers 15:30). In effect, they speak the worst lies about him, and they do so unfairly. The message of such sin is that eternal truth is not worth believing, the Lord of all is not worth obeying, and almighty power is not worth fearing or trusting. It treats infinite wisdom as foolish and the righteous Judge of all the earth as unjust.

Second, they despise the word of the Lord (Numbers 15:31). Some people fail in many things, yet still value God’s word and honor it as right. Presumptuous sinners do the opposite, they think they are too important, too good, or too wise to be ruled by it. That kind of rebellion, joined to the sin itself, brings the curse, just as stubbornness is treated like idolatry and rebellion like witchcraft.

The sentence on such sin is dreadful. The law provided no sacrifice for it. “That soul shall be cut off from among his people” (Numbers 15:30), and “his iniquity shall be upon him” (Numbers 15:31). This means God himself will deal with the sinner, so that he is fully proved right and the sinner is fully exposed. The Jewish teachers understood this to mean that the guilt would still cling to the person after he was cut off, and that he would answer for it at the great day of judgment. In the New Testament, a similar thought appears in the warning about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and total turning away from Christianity.

A clear example of this kind of presumption is the man who gathered sticks on the sabbath day (Numbers 15:32). He likely meant to make a fire, though God had already told Israel to prepare their food the day before (Exodus 16:23). On the surface, this may seem like a small matter, but it broke the sabbath law. Since the sabbath was dedicated to the Creator’s honor, this was really a contempt for God himself, and an attack on the law as a whole, because the sabbath was meant to guard it.

The man was taken into custody (Numbers 15:33, 34). Those who found him gathering sticks, caring about the honor of the sabbath, brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to the whole congregation. This suggests that the people were gathered that day to hear instruction and take part in worship. Even though there was much that was wrong among them, they were not willing to quietly watch the sabbath be profaned. That was a hopeful sign that they had not completely turned from God.

They then asked God what should be done, because the law had not yet said clearly what to do in this case. The law had already said that sabbath profanation was a capital offense (Exodus 31:14; Exodus 35:2), but they needed to know whether this act counted as that offense, and which death penalty should apply. Since God was the Judge, they brought the matter before him.

The sentence was then given. The man was found to be a sabbath-breaker under the meaning of that law, and he had to die. To show how great the crime was, how displeasing it was to God, and to warn others to hear and fear, he was ordered to be stoned with stones (Numbers 15:35). God is jealous for the honor of his sabbaths, and he will not leave the guilty unpunished, whatever men may think.

The sentence was carried out by the congregation (Numbers 15:36). As many as could took part in the execution, so that those who joined in would be less likely to break the sabbath themselves. This also shows that open sabbath-breaking should be restrained and punished by the civil ruler, since outward acts fall under public justice. It might seem like a small thing to gather a few sticks, but God made his punishment of this man a lasting warning to all of us, so that we would take care to keep the sabbath holy.